# Maria Carrillo High School

38°28′50″N 122°39′32″W﻿ / ﻿38.48056°N 122.65889°W﻿ / 38.48056; -122.65889
Maria Carrillo High School is a public high school in Santa Rosa, California, United States. It is managed by the Santa Rosa City Schools district. It opened in 1996 and is in Santa Rosa's Rincon Valley neighborhood.

## History

Maria Carrillo High School opened in 1996 and was named after María Ygnacia López de Carrillo. The school has a statue of the branding iron she used as her land grant in a planter with a dedicated plaque.
Maria Carrillo High School (MCHS), a California Distinguished High School 2013, is one of five comprehensive high schools in the Santa Rosa City Schools district. MCHS currently enrolls 1,550 students in grades 9-12. The school received its first regular accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1999.
In 2011, news of Maria Carrillo student Kayla Kearney speaking at a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial assembly gained widespread popularity after Kearney came out during her speech.
After the district experienced controversial school closures, on March 13, 2025, an emergency staff meeting detailed the amount of staff who were getting laid off due to school mass firings including all of the principals and counselors. In return, the school staged a protest the next day at the district's building which led the school to have 56 staff call absent and 15/16th of the student body absent by the end of March 14, 2025.

## Curriculum

Maria Carrillo follows the curriculum mandated by the Santa Rosa City Schools district. The school offers English, fine arts, mathematics, physical education, social sciences, and science classes. The latter include biology, chemistry, zoology, physics, and physical science. The school has a culinary program, where students learn cooking skills and compete for awards at local Santa Rosa restaurants.
Maria Carrillo High School also offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams meaning the school has met the College Board's requirements to offer college-level courses to high school students.
Maria Carrillo High School is involved in a dual-enrollment program with Santa Rosa Junior College allowing students to take junior college courses for college and high school credits.

## Extracurricular activities
### Fine Arts

Maria Carrillo High School has an ENCORE arts program which offers many arts classes such as art, ceramics, dance, band, orchestra, mariachi, jazz, and choir.

### Sports

The school has girls' and boys' basketball teams. In November 2011, the girls' basketball coach resigned after being accused of bullying team members throughout his career at the school. There is a track and field team, which is part of the North Coast Section competition field. There is also a baseball team, which, as of 2004, were the two-time North Coast Section champions. The school also has other sports teams, including football, volleyball, cross country, wrestling, badminton, swimming, boys' and girls' tennis, boys' and girls' golf, and boys' and girls' soccer.

### California Scholarship Federation

California Scholarship Federation has a chapter within Maria Carrillo High School. This chapter's purpose is to recognize students who have outstanding academic achievement as well as service to the school or community. This chapter which is also a club at the school offers many benefits to students such as recognition in college and visitations to university campuses.

### Journalism

Maria Carrillo High School has a student newspaper operated and run by students. Journalism is an elective course where students learn how to operate a newspaper, be journalists, and edit articles. The school's newspaper "The Puma Prensa" features student articles ranging from local to national topics.

### Clubs

Maria Carrillo High School has over 66 clubs, each of which dives into certain subjects or hobbies or focuses on a specific subject, hobby, or academic area. Some clubs host assemblies or rallies each year to represent their clubs, historical days, or holidays with the help of their teacher advisor and their department.

## Demographics
### 2023-2024

* 1,585 students:
| Hispanic | African American | Asian | Pacific Islander | White, non-Hispanic | Multiracial | American Indian |
| 29.2% | 1.8% | 8.6% | 0.9% | 50.4% | 6.5% | 0.5% |

## Notable alumni

Madeline Jane "Maya" DiRado, Class of 2010, is a former American competitive swimmer specializing in freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley events. She won four medals in the 2016 Summer Olympics- two gold, one silver, and one bronze.
Kevin Jorgeson, Class of 2003, is an American mountain climber; he partnered with Tommy Caldwell to successfully free climb The Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
Tristan Harris, Class of 2002, is the founder of the Center for Humane Technology, an organization focused on better aligning technology with the needs of humanity. Harris was featured on TED Talks and 60 Minutes.
Jake Scheiner (born 1995), a player for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Andrew Vaughn, Class of 2016, baseball player, winner of the 2018 Golden Spikes Award with the University of California, was drafted third overall by the Chicago White Sox in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft.